Rugby World Cup 2019: Australia beat Fiji after surviving almighty scare in pool D opener
- Wallabies fight back from nine points down to run out 39-21 winners at Sapporo Dome
- Tries from Peceli Yato and Waisea Nayacalevu helped Fiji to 21-12 lead just after the break
Twice champions Australia were forced to abandon a wide game plan and resort to controlled possession as they survived an almighty scare in their World Cup pool D opener against Fiji on Saturday to run out 39-21 winners at the Sapporo Dome.
Tries from Peceli Yato and Waisea Nayacalevu helped the Fijians to a 21-12 lead just after the break as a misfiring Australia struggled to turn possession into points and looked to be heading for one of the great World Cup shocks.
However, the Wallabies seemed to sense the danger and suddenly found another gear, with replacement scrum half Will Genia driving the pack around the field and using his tactical kicking to force Fiji back into their own half.
That more controlled approach led to hooker Tolu Latu barging over twice in quick succession from driving mauls before Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete also went over to take the game away from Fiji.
“It’s a testing match for us going down like that. Fiji really came out of the blocks at us, aggressive, they’re really big, physical guys, they really took it to us,” Australia captain Michael Hooper said.